Pneumatic shoe.



R. MARABINI.

' PNEUMATIC SHOE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23,1916.

Patented May 8, 1917.

entrants Mananmr, or new roars, n3 "1".

PNEUMATIC SHE.

Specification of Letters htcnt.

Patented May a, rent;

Application filed June as, me. $erial no. 105,462.

To all whom/it may concern."

Be it known that I, RAFFAELE MA ABINI, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lPneumatic Shoes; and I do hereby declare the for shoes, boots and the like to provide a simple, practical and comparatively inexpensive construction adapted to be readily applied to boots, shoes and analogous foot wear and capable of cushioning the foot of the wearer and of causing a circulation of air through the shoe whereby the feet are maintained at a uniform temperature and the feet maintained in a more comfortable and sanitary condition. y

With these and other objects in View, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying.

drawing, and pointed out in the claimshereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details of' construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through the rear portion of a shoe provided with pneumatic cushioning and ventilating means constructed in accordance with this invention,

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a plan view partly in section illustrating the arrangement of the pneumatic cushion, 1

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a pneumatic cushion illustrating a modification of the invention,

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 55 of Fig. 4.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawing.

In the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, 1 designates an elastic pneumatic cushioning tube designed to be constructed of rubber or other suitable material and composedof side portions and a connecting rear portion forming an approximately U-shaped cushion which extends forwardly from the back of the shoe to a point intermediate of the ends of the same. The sides 2 of the pneumatic cushion taper forwardly and preferably terminate at the front of the instep portion of the shoe and are provided at their front ends with one or more apertures 3 which communicate with perforations or apertures 4 of an inner sole 5 of the shoe 6. While I show the cushion applied to a portion of a shoe itwill be apparent that it is applicable to various forms of foot wear and the term shoe is to be understood as to comprehend all of such forms of foot wear. The pneumatic cushion is interposed between the inner sole 5 and an auxiliary or supplemental inner sole 7 and the elastic tube constituting the pneumatic cushion is preferably approximately D-shaped in cross section asclearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing and the supplemental or auxiliary inner sole which constitutes a support for the pneumatic cushion is provided with a groove 8 curved in cross section and receiving the rounded portion of the lD-shaped elastic tube which presents flat upper surfaces to the under face of the inner sole 5. B y seating the pneumatic cushion within the auxiliary inner sole or support and permitting' the said cushion to project slightly flange 11 The air is adapted to be forced from the pneumatic cushion in the act of walking and the cushion will automatically expand and draw the air into the elastic tube.

The pneumatic cushion is provided at 'each side with a cushioning spring 16 extending longitudinally of the cushion and and composedof upper and lower portions and a rear connecting. portion 17 The front portions of the upper and lower sides of the springv converge to correspond with the taper of the cushion and the springs in.

inflating the cushion. The upper side or portion of the spring is fiat or straight in cross section and the lower side is curved transversely as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

In Figs. 4 and 5 is illustrated another form of the invention in which the elastic tube is continuous and forms a cushion 12 of the general outline of the shoe. The elastic tube of the cushion 12 is approximately D-shaped in cross section and it is arched at the fiat portion at 13 and rounded or semi-cylindrical at the lower portion at 14. The rounded lower portion is provided with perforations 15. The cushion shown in Figs. 4 and 5 is designed to bemounted substantially as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing so that a partial compression of the cushion will be effected in the act of walking. The backof the cushion shown in Figs. 4: and 5 will be connected with a rear air tube similar to that shown' in Fig. 1.

What is claimed is 1. The combination with a shoe, of a support located within the shoe and provided with a groove, a pneumatic cushion consist ing of an elastic tube seated in and projecting above the groove, and an inner sole arranged upon the cushion and adapted to compress the same when subjected to pres sure, the compression of the cushion being limited by the said support.

2. The combination with a shoe, of a support located within the shoe and provided with a groove, a pneumatic cushion consisting of an elastic tube seated in and projecting above the groove, an inner sole arranged upon the cushion and adapted to compress the same when subjected to pressure, the compression of the cushion being limited by the said support, said cushion being provided with apertures communicating with the interior of the shoe and a rear air tube connected with the cushion and mounted in the rear portion of the shoe and communicating with the outside atmosphere. p

3. The combination with a shoe provided at. the back with a tapering support having ner sole provided at the front of the su conforming to the configuration of the same port with perforations and an approximatey U-shaped pneumatic cushion arranged lIl the said groove and projecting above the said support and havin front outlets communicating with the sand perforations and a rear air tube mounted imthe back portion of the shoe and having a lower terminal portion extending into the back of the pneumatic cushion.

4:. The combination with a shoe, of a support arranged within the shoe and provided with a substantially U-shaped groove curved in cross section and tapered longitudlnally 1n depth, an inner sole located above the support and provided interniediate of its ends with perforations located at the front of the said support, a substantially U-shaped pneumatic cushion seated in the said grooveand approximately D-shapcd in cross section to fit thegroove and present upper flat faces to the inner sole, said cushion being provided at the front with outlets communicating with the said perforations and a rear air tube mounted in the back of the shoe and having a lower inwardly extending terminal portion piercing the back of the pneumatic cushion.

5. A pneumatic cushion for shoes consisting of an elastic tube approximately D-shaped in cross section and'rounded at the bottom and having a flat top portion, said tube being, provided with apertures and having longitudinally disposed sides conforming to the configuration of the shoe, a rear air tube, an inner sole supported by the flat upper portions of the tube, and a spring extending along the elastic tube and having a leaf or portion bearing against the under side of the fiat top portion of the tube.

6. A pneumatic cushion for shoes consisting of an elastic tube approximately U- shaped to conform to the configuration of the rear portion of a shoe and having forwardly tapered sides and a substantially U- shaped spring extending longitudinally of the cushion and composed ofv upper and lower sides and a connecting portion, the sides converging to conform to the tapered portion of the cushion.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RAFFAELE MARABINI.

Witnesses:

, AN'ToNIoSOMMER,

ANeELo Fame. 

